


Love the Giver...

by Zeke Black (istia)



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, M/M, POV Ezra Standish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:53:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22217341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/istia/pseuds/Zeke%20Black
Summary: It's Christmas and Ezra is uncharacteristically...seasonal.
Relationships: Chris Larabee/Ezra Standish
Comments: 12
Kudos: 43





	Love the Giver...

###### Four Corners | 2019

"If anyone laughs, you'll regret it--and never see it coming." His voice was steely with dark promise.

"But for us to laugh, you'd have to be funny!" JD beamed delight at himself.

Ignoring JD with customary ease, Ezra straightened his elegant black-and-silver brocade waistcoat, squared his shoulders inside the exquisite lines of his plum velvet dinner jacket--he wasn't overdressed, not in the least; quite obviously, everyone else was underdressed--and sat down at their favored table in Inez's Bar. After nodding to the others seated around the large corner table, he took his time surveying the interior of the busy pub, catching Inez's eye in his scan of the premises and smiling at her wave.

Eventually, inevitably, he ran out of excuses to delay and turned his head to meet Chris's lazily amused, challenging gaze across the table. Stifling a sigh, Ezra leaned back in his chair with a practised air of nonchalance, lifted his right foot, and rested the ankle sideways on the opposite knee, making sure his black wool pant leg rode up sufficiently.

All eyes snapped to the gaudy, red-white-and-green sock featuring a rosy-cheeked, laughing Santa that adorned his foot in all its glory above the sheen of his stylish, expensive black loafer. He affected an insouciant air, as though wearing cheap holiday socks from Walmart clearly didn't warrant any comment at all....

"Lordy," Nathan said in an awed voice. "Why, Ezra, I never thought you had it in you! Is it true then? Is there actually a real boy inside that stuffed-shirt, after all?"

He leaned over and stabbed a finger into Ezra's shoulder, which completely destroyed Ezra's attempt to pretend none of them existed. He shrugged away from Nathan with a growl.

"Wonders truly do never cease." Josiah poured himself a drink and saluted Ezra before knocking it back. "'tis the season of miracles, indeed."

Shelley, one of Inez's servers, arrived then with Ezra's preferred brand of whisky. She set the bottle and glass on the table in front of him, then paused to smile at the tipsy-looking Santa grinning up at her.

"Oh, what adorable socks! I got a pair for my boyfriend, but they only have holly on them because he's kind of a conservative dresser and I wouldn't have been able to get him out of the house with anything more colorful. I love how Christmassy yours are!"

He quickly slipped her an extra $5.00 on top of his usual tip in hopes she'd go away. Fortunately, the place was heaving with new customers and she couldn't linger.

When he looked back to the table, he found Buck staring at him with a terrifyingly crazed gleam in his eye. He pointed at Ezra's foot and exclaimed, "Lady magnets! Boy howdy, who'd've thought you'd be the one to hit on that idea, Mr. Priss and Proper?" He rubbed his hands together. "I gotta get me some of those!"

"Christmas is almost over, Buck," JD pointed out. "Anyhow, what are you going to do? Walk around holding your pants up so everybody can see them?"

"I just might. Why the hell not? I could start a new fashion!"

"You could chop three inches off the bottoms and reinvent pedal pushers for the 2020s." Ezra laced as much acid disdain into his voice as he could, wondering if he'd stood his ground long enough and could now slip his foot down and under the table out of sight.

Vin snorted and the others snickered, but Buck said, "That's not altogether a bad idea, you know! I'll just have to think up another name for them because I do believe pedal pushers were a women's thing."

"Oh, and heaven forfend clothes not be strictly gendered," Ezra said, but he kept his mutter low enough that he was essentially just grousing to himself under the noise of the jukebox and the crowd.

"So, hey, Ezra," JD said, drawing his eyes, "look at that: we're laughing, but not at you." He smiled like he was sharing a joke, gentle and sweet, and Ezra was startled into a laugh of his own.

He nodded his head. "So you are."

As the others set about teasing Buck, Vin spoke in a low, lazy voice, relaxed in his chair next to the ever silent Chris. "Nothing all that different going on, anyway, is there? One thing sure as dawn-and-dusk is you turning up with new and unexpected ways to grab attention." His eyes flicked to the sock still on full display and he grinned. "Though I have to say, you've outdone yourself in the surprise department this time. Not remotely up to your usual style. It's almost like--" he lifted his smiling eyes to Ezra's "--you had a particular reason for walking in here all eager to display them eye-catchers to the world. Seeing as how everything you do has a calculated reason behind it, that is."

Ezra refilled his glass and tipped it toward Vin before downing the fiery liquid. As he poured himself another, he said, "Almost like somebody challenged me, one might think, with a particularly juicy prize to make it all worthwhile."

Vin's smile widened. "Almost exactly like that." He chuckled softly. "Well, I reckon this might be one of them cases where the loser was outright hoping to lose, given that challenging you is a surefire way to guarantee you'll do whatever it takes to win. Even...." His voice trailed off as he slid his eyes down to the sock again, then, with a quirked grin, turned to join in with the others, leaving Ezra a moment's privacy.

He looked at Chris, whose slow smile was like the warmth of the noonday sun on this frosty Christmas Eve. Ezra dropped his foot to the floor and leaned forward to fill Chris's glass. Chris's thumb caressed his hand.

Ezra put the bottle down and smiled at him. He might not love the gift, but the giver was an entirely other matter and the night stretched ahead of them replete with promised reward.


End file.
